The trial of three Birmingham men convicted Thursday of plotting to launch a "catastrophic" suicide bombing attack in the United Kingdom revealed that al Qaeda has developed a new strategy to target the West.

The new strategy involves a teacher-training approach in which a select few Western operatives are taught bombmaking and other aspects of terrorist tradecraft in the tribal areas of Pakistan and are then instructed to return back to the West to "spread the knowledge" to a larger body of Islamist extremists keen on launching attacks.

The new approach is a response to the growing toll of drone strikes which have made travel to the tribal areas increasingly perilous for Western recruits and significantly diminished al Qaeda's ability to orchestrate terrorist plots from the region.

The trial revealed that terrorist groups in Pakistan are actively dissuading Western militants from making the trip.

Two of those convicted Thursday - Irfan Naseer and Irfan Khalid - received 40 days of terrorist training in the tribal areas of Pakistan in the spring of 2011, mostly inside houses in the valleys of Waziristan.
In conversations bugged by British police, the plotters described being handled by al Qaeda operatives and having attended a training camp run by Harakat al Mujahideen, a Pakistani terrorist group closely affiliated with al Qaeda.

The recordings revealed that like other Western militants before them, they were provided detailed instruction in the tricky and potentially hazardous methods to make bombs out of substances readily available in the West, and practiced detonating them. Their instructors included Arabs and Pakistanis.

They also were taught how to put poisons in face creams.

And their teachers emphasized they should put nails inside their bombs, to act as razor-sharp shrapnel.

Naseer, a pharmacy major and the plot's alleged ringleader, was heard recalling how one of their trainers had said the July 7, 2005, London bombers had missed an opportunity to kill more people by failing to put nails in their devices.

Naseer commented on how they were given so much information that they had accumulated 30-40 pages of notes.

They were told the smaller the cell they recruited the better, illustrating al Qaeda's move away from spectacular attacks on the 9/11 scale toward smaller strikes that have a better chance of getting through.

In the recordings played in court, Naseer said his cell should keep the numbers launching the attack in the United Kingdom to around half a dozen. The recordings, however, indicated the cell's plans grew increasingly ambitious with talk of launching an attack bigger than the 2005 London bombings.

The need for less ambitious attacks was previously stressed by two senior American al Qaeda operatives: al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and Adnan Shukrijumah, an operative believed to be still at large in Pakistan.

An internal al Qaeda strategy document, authored in around 2009, and recovered in 2011 from a Berlin operative, had called for a greater emphasis on low-cost low-tech attacks by Western militants, whom it said should be quickly trained in the tribal areas of Pakistan.

Teaching Westerners to teach back home

In Pakistan, Naseer and Khalid's al Qaeda handlers had a new "command" for them: go back and teach others.

Naseer is heard talking with an associate, keen on traveling to Pakistan, that he and Khalid wanted to stay in the United Kingdom to participate in the plot.

"AQ's main aim is... the knowledge that they give us, [they] want more and more people [to] have [the knowledge] in Europe. So they can start whacking [attacking] there, yeah, do you understand?

Analysts say that if al Qaeda manages to put into practice their new teacher training model, it will raise alarm bells with Western security services because it would reduce the need for Western militants to travel overseas for terrorist training.

"This seems to be a product of al Qaeda's desperation to try to get an attack through, but it's a potentially scary development," Raffaello Pantucci, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, who closely followed the trial, told CNN.

While Islamists militants have access to many bombmaking recipes online, analysts say they often contain potentially fatal errors and have been seen by militants as a poor substitute to hands-on training by an instructor schooled in the art of bombmaking.

Security services fear the presence of such instructors on Western soil could be a game changer.

Message from al Qaeda: Stay Put

The Birmingham case revealed that al Qaeda had begun actively dissuading recruits from going to Pakistan.

"They told me don't send anyone [more to us]," plot ringleader Naseer said in one of the recordings.

In a June 2011 video "You are Only Responsible for Yourself," released around the same time the Birmingham duo trained in Pakistan, al Qaeda's leadership in Pakistan had urged Western militants to stay home to launch attacks.

Khalid, in one conversation recorded by British police, pointed out that Inspire magazine - the online English publication of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen - had the same advice: "we don't want people to be traveling cos it's getting risky." In 2011 Samir Khan, an American member of the group, urged followers to launch attacks in the West rather than travellng to Yemen.

Naseer and Khalid painted a dim picture of the tribal areas of Pakistan in their attempt to stop their associate from traveling there.

"[Waziristan] hasn't got no more camps now... the brothers used to be in the mountains [but] the drones just get them straight away, they just bomb the camps, so ... they taught us inside houses," Naseer is heard telling the associate in the recordings played in court.

He described how he had had to cower for several hours in 100-degree heat when a drone circled above. "That day was bad ... it's a nasty situation to be in, man," chipped in Khalid.

Khalid described how the drones restricted movement for fighters in the region: "They were restricted to one place most of the time: One place to eat, sleep, go to toilet and do everything."

Terror training on UK soil

Naseer and Khalid implemented the new al Qaeda strategy when they returned to the United Kingdom. Just days before their arrest on September 18, 2011, Naseer provided Ashik Ali, the third Birmingham man convicted Thursday, with hands-on instruction in how to make explosives.
According to expert witnesses consulted in the trial, Naseer had acquired the correct knowledge to teach recruits how to make viable bombs. The recordings suggested their planned attacks were still months away.

In one of the bugged conversations, Naseer is heard suggesting that the restrictions on training in Pakistan meant it was just as effective training recruits in the West.

"[In the tribal areas] you get bit of an experience in fighting - but you know the rest of the stuff that could be taught - they taught us in a room."

At one point, Naseer warned Ali that if he hit or rubbed the explosives in a certain way it could explode and potentially kill him; just one of the many lessons he passed on from his training in Waziristan.

In the days before their arrest, Naseer experimented and tinkered with potential bombmaking chemicals in a Birmingham apartment, including the chemicals inside sports injury cold packs. The recordings revealed that his instructors in Pakistan had taught him that ammonium nitrate- – a potentially high powered explosive - could be extracted from such packs, demonstrating al Qaeda's continued inventiveness.

Pantucci told CNN the Birmingham case illustrated that despite intensified drone strikes in Pakistan, Western militants were still finding ways to connect with al Qaeda in the region, providing the terrorist groups opportunities to attack the West.

He said al Qaeda's new emphasis on training Westerners to in turn provide terrorist instruction in the West reflected the group's looser control over plots than just a few years ago.

Unlike the 7/7 bombers, and other recent terrorist conspiracies like a plot to attack Manchester in 2009, the Birmingham plotters do not appear to have been in touch with their handlers in Pakistan after returning to the United Kingdom.

Pantucci says the pressures on al Qaeda have resulted in a shift toward a new model of "fire and forget."

The March 2012 Toulouse terrorist shootings provided further evidence of looser control by al Qaeda of terrorist plots in the West. The perpetrator of the attack - Mohammed Merah - was encouraged by the group to return to France to launch an attack during a short stay in the tribal areas of Pakistan in September 2011 but planned every aspect of the operation himself, including which targets to strike.

tjp – Are you suggesting we murder Americans for treason by exercising their riight to free speech before first accusing them, presenting evidence and having their due process in court? That is as barbaric as the terriorists.

The U.K., USA, GERMANY, and other countries should use capital punishment upon conviction. These nuts will not be missed by their families nor does society. You sanction everyone convicted that soon potential recruits won't even come near as being associated with AQ.

Drones. War. 9/11. Terrorists. I think was is most disturbing topic on this page is the grammatical massacre. If you wish to say something ignorant here about America on some baseless notion of morality or physics, the least you can do is take a second to review your sloppy gibberish for the difference between a comma (,) and a period (.). They simply were never meant to be interchangeable. Furthermore, a RED LINE will appear under words that aren't real or spelled correctly. The only thing worst that pathetic senseless ranting (here's looking at you Sly and LI_Bri) is commenting without any class or tact. Reading level should be at least 3rd grade to post on topics requiring sensibilities of a mature person.

" The only thing worst that pathetic senseless ranting (here's looking at you Sly and LI_Bri) is commenting without any class or tact. Reading level should be at least 3rd grade to post on topics requiring sensibilities of a mature person."

Popular phrases in the new strategy. "Can you get the mail", "Why don't you drive", "One way trip", "shhhh they are about to land", "Watch out for the bumps", "take your umbrella", "do you like virgins (virgin goats)"

Obviously the drone thing is working out great. The terrorists can't even go outside to go to the bathroom. They are telling new recruits to stay home because coming to Pakistan to train is a suicide mission for them. The only people complaining about it are Pakistan, the terrorists and of course Republicans who will take the opposite stance on everything Obama does no matter what out of spite.

Your definitely right about the opposition aiming for spite in their criticism. However, I don't trust drones enough. It's great when they hit militants, but there is substantial evidence that civilians are killed as well.

Sly, obviously you are a Muslim or a stupid idiot same difference. The US should have bombed that whole area and made it a lake. Screw religion and screw Mohammad.. those little sand monkeys can rot all I care, take their oil and kill them. If you liberals love them and your Muslim leader so much, (Obama) go live in shutdown with them.

Let me guess, a Republican? We know your stance already. Kill everybody that isn't a Republican American Christian. Kill them all! That's why there is a Democrat in the WH now. We have already seen your policy in action with Bush. Start a war based on lies and fabrications. Kill hundreds of thousands, spend trillions and lose thousands of Americans fighting your crusade. Destroy the economy and double the debt.

Nobody said these al quaeda people were dumb or lazy. They are clearly resourceful and determined. These tactics are a clear indicator that our tactics are working. The new al quaeda tactic of planting viral suicide agents is quite inefficient and shows desperation. Keep the drone strikes going!

Al Qaeda is an ideology not a country or an agency you can destroy by fighting. These are Muslims committed to make Islam dominates the world and create an Islamic empire like Muhammad did some 1,300 years ago. It is very similar to Nazism ideology. However we were all united against Nazis but we are paralyzed by political correctness when it comes to Muslim fundamentalist.

You are absolutely correct. Somewhere along the way we defined islam as a religion rather than a political movement, which it most certainly is. Just because they talk about a God in their platform doesn't make them religious. Just look at republicans. So because it is called a religion, we can't root it out and destroy it wherever it exists. Somehow, killing war happy, women hating, muslim barbarians has become politically incorrect. I just don't understand it.

You were droppin' bombs and killing innocents before al Qaeda even existed. And the only way you could be oblivious to your decline is to be ignorant of what's happening in the rest of the world. Warmongers get what they deserve, and that's good.

February 22, 2013 at 1:25 pm |

kurtinco

I hear you. I couldn't agree more. I feel dirty and cheap everytime I have to settle for the house wine.

February 22, 2013 at 1:43 pm |

Dave

@ Li_Bri Muslims have been killing innocents long before bombs were even invented.

February 22, 2013 at 1:49 pm |

rhody rapper

man, I love that one "drones rule". Refresh my memory, who lives in caves? If decline happens, you'll never even see it, it's way way out on the timeline. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm basically a pacifist, until somebody blows up my neighbors in New York. Whatever happens now, you brought on yourself, you made peaceful people dislike you as much as you hate us. Far as I'm concerned, anything goes now. More strikes on us may call for more serious use of our (air) capability, as unfortunate as that would be. A price will be paid on YOUR side of the fence too little man, plan on it. Because Americans are fed up with you and your calling. Your culture is a disaster and a disgrace on humankind.

February 22, 2013 at 2:03 pm |

LI_Bri

@Dave, so have Christians. Do not forget; The USA was over there attacking them first.

And the elimination of terrorists in a continuous unending action, that is what you reap. Launch an attack from any country and we will invade it. Plan to attack us and we will strike you where you stand making it dangerous for you to walk in your own country. Be a leader and we will track you until the end of time until you are dead. Just ask Bin Laden to rest. It seems to me that terrorists are by far on the losing end of the cowardly attack on civilians of 911. This one day attack has resulted in over a decade of attacking terrorists and we are not even close to ending it. We have been restrained, another attack would unleash us in an even greater fury. For every civilian we have lost, more than 1,000 terrorists or potential terrorists have been eliminated. We aren't done yet.

I do not recall using the word "imminent". But like all, eventually you'll go down. All the signs are there, if yo know history.

February 22, 2013 at 2:26 pm |

Huge not

Oh, pro war like muslims fighting muslims over who's the real muslim? Or, muslims killing their own women for wanting self determination? Yes, America has fought lots of wars, but radical muslims live in a constant culture of murder and revenge, even against their own. Ruthless, violent, and evil.

Kids believe in Santa right before Xmas too. Maybe the earth is only 6000 years old.... too funny that people don't think that through... 50% of american actually believe this crap. Ya, I know the dinos were created by satan....

February 22, 2013 at 1:16 pm |

joebob

The don't find God they are just desperatly hoping there is someything after this besides oblivion

February 22, 2013 at 1:17 pm |

Joe

Disproving the existence of a deity is rather like proving the negative...it cannot be done, not by science. Only faith can state there is no God, so if you are certain there is no God, you have actually just joined the religion of atheism.

Ok – So here is the plan. Accept that there is no god. Accept that we are alone here and on our own. Now, stand tall and take ownership of being a human being. Be accountable for the actions of yourself and those around you, raise the bar. Finally, those that can't get over Santa Claus, God, and the Tooth Fairy need to be culled. Unfortunately this will never take place as we are the only species that protects its weak, and perhaps we should be. But that doesn't mean allowing defective units to progress through society and enjoy the freedom and rights we enjoy. Jails are useless. They breed further dissension and it must stop. If a unit is defective, eliminate it. We are the Jetsons fighting the Flintstones. Don't vote because of a religious crutch, vote to make a change and vote for whichever party serves that agenda. The reason there is more than one party to vote for is to give you a choice, not to start a civil war. Indoctrinating our children into one party or the other is no different than the Hitler youth! If things are mess, it all comes down to you! MAKE A CHANGE IN THE WORLD!!!

American are not well liked around the world & that is what makes them the prime target. Why does the USA think it has the right to police the world? I liked the introduction for the pres at the state of the union " the leader of the free world". HA! We worry about the US debt... what if we stopped spending more on wars than healthcare? If the USA was less invloved with millitary action around the world, they would be less hated and need a much smaller war machine. What the US did in Iraq will be remembered for a long time. WDMs, ya right.

Brad, read the story: they were bombing the UK, not USA. Regardless, appeasement and ignoring these idiots is out of the question. Thanks to Barack for droning the crap out of them. Keep up the good work.

I tend to agree with you that its probably too late to ingnore them now. There is enough hate around the world now to last generations. I do not support anything the terrorist have done. But the US could act differently to make the bull's eye a bit smaller. I think Obama has started that trend to some degree.

February 22, 2013 at 1:31 pm |

Nonsense

@Brad...like the surfing sailor stated...these clowns were targeting the UK, not the US. So please tell us what the UK should be doing differently to prevent Islamist terrrorists from attacking them, and how what Obama's policies has to do with the UK?

February 22, 2013 at 3:40 pm |

tjp44

move to Iran traitor and see how that works out for you...your damed right we do and will continue too

Its sad that you attack anyone who believes something different that you. I'm not traitor. I just think that there might be a better use of our $700 billion in taxes than spending it on war. Will $1.4 trillion make us twice as safe... I'm thinking no.

February 22, 2013 at 2:44 pm |

Inciteful

al Qaeda can just partner with Coursera (coursera.com) and provide online classes.

This is an easy plot to foil. Put the word out that there are two types of terrorists: Those whom get the training from Pakistan, and others whom vaporise in a puff of smoke. If you are not top dog (first in training), then you become nothing.

Hey, we're still waiting for an explanation how jet parts scattered over 3 miles in Penn. I thought the 'lets roll' heros made that plane crash. Hmmm .... how does steel bounce 3 miles on grass?

Oh ... and about that Pentagon ... that's funny, no airplane parts. The whole plane 'vaporized' without a trace? That's funny also, cause over 1000 jets have crashed ... and this is the first where nothing was left (oh right, reporters did say they saw a few pieces of metal here and there...)

Your absurd level of sarcasm mixed with your quite eerie choice of words severely creeps me out. Please do us all a favor, and climb back under the rock you have been hiding under. (see.....in US, we can 'say' these things :))

ya sly, its always interesting to watch how cnn in between its hyped up drama and lies. they run lots of distractions and useless stuff till they have something they can harp on, and write 50 stories on, telling people how to feel. gee and people wonder why people are ill today. they let others tell them how to feel vs getting the facts and deciding for themselves. a constant diet of rubbish doesnt make for a mentally healthy person. but thats right, cnn's sponsors have a drug for that, to help keep that REALITY DEFIANCE DISORDER, which it promotes, going!

to sally, you shouldnt watch so much cnn, you sound stupid, like its PAID puppets. poor thing, you sound so dumbed down. a product of the media i see.

and you sound like you're living out of your mom's basement. Get a job.

February 22, 2013 at 1:13 pm |

JosephS

And how exactly did you get the "facts" yourself? Did you visit the world trade center on 9/11 and take your own pictures? Did you interview those people involved? No? My guess is you clicked on a conspiracy website and were convinced of something so unlikely, describing you as gullible would be a compliment. Talk about being told what to believe... Geez – take a look in the mirror.

To Muslims Allah is God, and God is not Jesus. Jesus is an ordinary man deemed a prophet. And for the person above criticizing Catholics or anyone, there will always be something someone can find bad about any group or person, including you. healthy debate is good as long as its respectful, not attacking people, and based on facts. To each their own. The majority of Muslims are very good people, but their are a few groups that are very fundamental and use words written in a book wrongly in the modern era. Each group transcribes those words a little differently, and much of the extremism is coming from just a few people within those groups.Sufi Muslims for instance are peaceful, Salifists and Wahhabi have a few extreme fundamentalists amongst them. They need to weed out the cleric,imam and mullah who preach fatwahs and hate. The best war against this Islamic terrorism, is Muslims themselves, and many of them are trying to intervene in different ways. They need to be educated that the innocent people they are killing are not against them. Majority of people dont hate ALL Muslims, but many are concerned about the spread of Islamic violence. Because there is NO WAR on majority of Muslims. There is an inherent problem within some groups of Islam, who use their beliefs to control other Muslims and lie to them about others, so they will give their lives to hurt innocent people, which is not the way most Muslims believe, nor the way of a peaceful creator that they supposedly believe in. There are many good Muslims trying to fight off extremist views as well, and those Muslims are hurt the worst by loss of life, caused by Islamic extremists who give the belief of peaceful religion a bad name. Empower good Muslims to confront the extremism more. Some people do just have to be arrested and removed, their minds have been brainwashed by judging all of us bad, because of a few of our own. Yet they have to remember, majority of us didnt blame all Muslims after 9-11, most of us are smart enough to see the difference that every group has good and bad. But those radical groups need changed from within as well. I think many well respected Muslims can encourage this change a little more so weapons against them can be decreased. Its worth a try, and for those who will not change and insist on violence in our countries, they will be dealt with and by their violent actions, they are only hurting their own people, their own families, and the future of their religion that they are trying to protect.

I do know that 12 years ago a close family friend of President Bush said his own son, trained by the CIA, turned againest us and hijacked some airplanes.

No one has ever proven who those terrorists were, if they were even terrorists. After seeing the Wacko from Waco, the fake WMD's, and the OK City bomber, and hearing many Republicans say they would attack the US if Obama won, it makes all of us wonder whether 'Al Queda' was really an enemy from within America.

Sure, tons of Arabs hate us for about a million reasons ... they should. We asked for it. But before I go about worrying about Al Queda I'd need just a bit of proof.

I thought Obama got rid of al Qaeda. Like the sequester . Like gitmo. Like the A bomb in Iran.... Like bringing in millions of new jobs and lowering unemployment. I could go on and on. You uneducated or race apologists that voted for that con jive basketball player are fools!

Whine. Complain, whine, complain, whine, complain. You lost and it sucks huh? I guess you could go on the Internet and whine and complain about the side that won. Your side lost because nobody likes your side. You started a war in Iraq based off of lies and fabrications resulting in hundreds of thousands of lost lives for no reason. Your side lowered taxes across the board and now we can't pay our bills anymore. Your side complains about the deficit,,but your side doubled the deficit while in office during a stellar economy. Then your side destroyed the economy.

You you blame Obama for it all and complain about everything no matter what he does. Obama could wipe out half of America just by pledging his support for breathing air. Your side would appose his stance like always and stop breathing just to spite him.

One day, the world will find peace, and these threats will be a distant memory. That isn't to say these extremists will voluntarily change their minds, but after decades of being beaten into submission by an adversary that is much more capable and much more organized, the school of thought that terrorism is a losing proposition will become evident. The West did not rise to power by backing down to its enemies. For every terrorist willing to die for their beliefs, there are ten-fold (at least) more that will oppose them to protect their beliefs. Freedom wins. Deal with it.

You don't see it do you? Thanks to Obama's drones the Al Qaeda goons who were all in visible training camps in Pakistan etc are now in UK, USA etc etc and they can work quite effectively and attack anywhere, anytime without a care in the world!
Please THINK before you make dopey coments..

Yeah, right. And you probably think Sandyhook, Aurora, and Columbine were made up, too. America has the most transparent, accountable, and tolerant government in the world. If you don't believe that move to China, Russia, Cuba, Venezuela or Iran and take personal note of the scary difference. But as they say "common sense isn't that common". Doh!

Funny, I just recently read an article from people in the media that cover White House events and they said exactly the opposite. Obama's administration is the least transparent that any of them can remember. If you mean that Obama spends a lot of time of talk shows and forcing the press to avoid talking about real issues, then yes, he is very transparent.

February 22, 2013 at 11:56 am |

What a crock!

icurheinie – If you really believe that THIS administration is transparent can I sell you shares in my underground airline????

Protecting Holder by refusing to give info
Refusing to give info on OBL's killing [but giving details to Hollywood to make a film!..........I could go on lol

I would love for you to describe to me how people like you could fathom that our government has enough intelligence and ability to create the biggest attack on our soil against two of the biggest buildings on our land that would involve hundreds of people to put together...but then tell us how inept and oblivious the government was then by their collection of intelligence that didn't prove to be true.

Please, tell me which is it. Were Bush and friends capable of putting together a conspiracy that would have been the biggest of all time or were they as ignorant and blind to reality that people like CONSTANTLY said they were the entire term? You can't have it both ways just to suit your own delusions....it doesn't work that way. They are one or the other. The two are opposites. If you agree they did create the conspiracy and enact 9/11, then you have to agree that Bush and friends were some of the most powerful and most intelligent leaders this country has ever had. Which is it?

Okay, now very slowly, back away from the keyboard, put your pants on, go upstairs and ask mommy if you can go out and play. Make sure you put on your mittens and a coat of tinfoil over your helmut. Usually only a trained psychiatrist can make a conclusive diagnosis of Schizophrenia, but your post has allowed anyone to make it.

No, I agree it was a flase flag event. sources are hard to come by with cover-ups. that's the point. But honestly.... so much just doesnt add up, enough that I'm not that stu pid.... wasn't done as well as Pearl though.

Yea.... Killing Americans without Due Process! Al Qaeda's strategy? Wait for Obama to weaken America..... then attack.... this of couse will happen on a Republican's watch because of the terrible info we will have from 8 years of passive presidency.

Another goofball "no common sense" post. The USA has the most free and independent press in the world. CNN on particular goes out of it's way to show both sides of a story. Not Fox News however. There is a drone flying over your little mud hut now....

White sheets in the South. Turbans in the Middle East. But generally speaking, most Muslims are more intelligent than southerner's.

February 22, 2013 at 12:21 pm |

Realityblows

What is the ultimate end of this action? Do they intend to scare us to the point that we say "Oh! Okay, lets leave them alone so that they can take over the entire African Contintent and Europe because they are setting off bombs" You cannot terrorize an American. You can stun or temporarily shock an American, but you cannot terrorize us. Our anger will grow so quickly, that even our politicians that are protecting terrorists from the full weight of the U.S. armed forces will have to capitulate. Finally the entire muscle of our military will be felt, and devistation to every man woman and child will be the end result in that land. Go ahead, invoke our anger. We do not fight for some idiotic religeous belief, but for our personal freedom. That is a powerful incentive to destroy. They do not understand Americans at all, or the repercussions of their actions. You want to destroy an American? Become a U.S. Senator or Congressman.

Their purpose is to scare us from taking things like public transportation or go to public places. To become scared to fly, or make flying extremely unpleasant. To cripple logistics. Its also to waste our resources securing those places or waging wars half a world away. To lower the standard of living for the average American so that maybe the average American would become so angry at our own government that something may happen. Like you said, Americans are quick to anger, and these A holes know that best. Their endgame is for America to implode, not surrender like in wars back in the day.

It almost sounds to me like they are just trying to make everyone in the world live how they have lived in the Middle East for decades because of the religious in-fighting. I really wouldn't put it passed them.

February 22, 2013 at 11:56 am |

Eddard

humtake – it may be interesting to understand why these terrorists are targeting the US. Its not because "they're jealous about our freedom" or "cultural differences." Read up on their history and what American foreign policy has done to them, like assassinating their democratically elected leaders, or assassinating rebel leaders to some states with messed up dictators or give aid to keep them in power because they trade favorably with the US. They want to weaken the US so that the US would be unable to project power in that region, or at least sabotage the US until China becomes its equal like the cold war days of the soviets. Then they can get aid from the opposing party and create other fiascos like the Koreas and Vietnam.

Muslim men perceive the western culture as a significant threat to their dominance in all social, financial, and political aspects of Muslim life.
Women in that culture have nominal status which is totally controlled by men. This one reason wouldn't let them abandon hatred towards the most valued concept of the western civilization- equal rights for all. I personally have witnessed self burning of young girls who stood up against their fathers to marry them to anyone who pays more, wives who were fed up with their husbands treating them like dogs. The worst part is that those incidents are normal in their societies. Boys are being brought up with this kind of mindset for generations. How do you change it?

The thing these animalistic muslim creatures hate more is Freedom. They can never be free while being a muslim so they love their misery more than life. Fix it? You can eliminate all vestiges of islam and those that refuse to change. Raise their children to act like normal human beings. Teach them to respect life and others who do not think like them. Sound familiar?

These are largely young men who are completely uninvested in life. While there are some exceptions, most of them have no personal life, no aspirations, no genuine loves, and no real hope. So they tend to be immersed in the 'next life'. In societies where the population has hope and the potential for a decent future, you rarely see this kind of behavior. The American-born Islamists, like Al Awlaki, are just psychopaths - highly intelligent killers with delusions of grandeur who enjoy manipulating others to do their bidding.

Let the terrorists watch the Christian church inquisition and torture a confession to god out of a left handed girl before burning her at the stake as a witch. Then they will know who they are messing with and will welcome a speedy drone strike end.

The difference is that the Christian church has evolved since then, yours has not. That's why extremist Mulsims never invent anything or contribute anything to society but hatred, prejudice, and death. You're welcome for: cars, electricity, televisions, computes, phones, lasers, the internet, and tolerance. Shall I go on? Mohammed's teachings need to be updated or your people will continue to flounder. Right now you are 200 years behind us.

Historians now agree that the real reason the south lost the civil war is because generations of inbreeding resulted in many mentally challenged soldiers in the confederate army. That combined with their webbed feet made it nearly impossible for them to run from the union army.

That's not accurate, all groups designated terrorist are NOT Muslim. CIRA, INLA, PIRA, RIRA, and these are the ones I see daily in graffiti around my neighbour-hood. Also we have LVF, UDA UVF in the northern part of Ireland.
There are numerous illegal groups throughout the world that are not Muslim.

More Islamist nuts trying to emulate their prophet by shoving their fictional beliefs down your throat, like it or not.....24/7 delutuional Islamists like these "men" are planning death and destruction. Law enforcement and civilians must remain vigilant...

Here we go again with the right-wing news media posting most disgusting looking pictures of some innocent muslim men! This just goes on and on and on......! why can't CNN digitally shave these pictures before they post them on their web pages?

Yeah, it sure does seem like an interesting coincidence that Obama is taking flack over drone strikes and CNN finds a way to try and put them in a light that makes them seem like they are saving the world. "But they are killing terrorists!" .. yeah.. and plenty of innocent people as well.. and if we happen to kill Americans in the process? Well Obama has said that is ok too.

Or perhaps when they realize generalizing the entire West for the doings of a handful of people is wrong. Perhaps they will stop doing that when you also stop generalizing all of them for the actions of a few.

When my best friend was killed in Afghanistan just after I got out of the unit my friend from home Moe took me out, bought me drinks and tried my spirits up. Moe happens to be short for Mohammed.

Outside of the Army, I've had 2 people threaten to kill me on seperate occassions. Both were white and Christian, both were drunk and rednecks. I'll take people one at a time and try not to judge them all for the actions of a few cause if I did that I'd have to hate all white Christians.

Maybe you should try that and then maybe they will try that, then we can stop killing eachother. But you have to be the change you seek in this world.

Maybe they should not have allowed bin laden to mass his operations and bombed and killed 13,000 americans on spetember 11th. Funny how they didnt seem to care back then, but now dislike that we dont allow it to happen again. And for all you who seem to have ADHD and forgot this happened and other events like it priot here is your reminder.

You mean like complaining about someone praying? Cause complaining on a CNN article will accomplish more than praying. I'm agnostic so I'd just like to point out the odds that either of these two methods succeeding sounds silly to me but hey they obviously make both of you feel better. So why not avoid being a hypocrit and a jerk while making yourself feel better.

February 22, 2013 at 11:09 am |

Barry G.

You may choose to hate, but I choose to love my neighbor.

You may also choose not to believe in God–and you may choose to believe in his son Jesus, who was crucified for your sins and mine; but, as for me, I believe.

When they close my casket, lower my body in the grave, and shovel dirt over my coffin, I'll be with Jesus.

Where are you going to be–with your hate, your refusal to acknowledge the one who created and sustains the universe, and who are rejecting the son of God, who was crucified so that you can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life?

Don't you know that those who trust in God have nothing to fear–not death or anything else?

Haven't you heard?

You may choose to hate, but I choose to love my neighbor.

You may also choose not to believe in God–and you may choose to believe in his son Jesus, who was crucified for your sins and mine; but, as for me, I believe.

When they close my casket, lower my body in the grave, and shovel dirt over my coffin, I'll be with Jesus.

Where are you going to be–with your hate, your refusal to acknowledge the one who created and sustains the universe, and who are rejecting the son of God, who was crucified so that you can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life?

Think about it, when you lie in bed tonight!

February 22, 2013 at 4:06 pm |

toughluv

I think this might have been news in 2001. It's common knowledge today. Thanks for the reprint for those that may have forgotten.

With ignorant comments like that, you bring great discredit to yourself, the city of Dallas, and the state of Texas. You are perpetuating the stereotype of people from Texas as being racist, stupid, and hostile towards anyone different then themselves. Of course, this is not true of everyone in Texas; but foolish statements like yours do not help the situation.

but you guys are OK when Dems and their cohorts in the media characterize all people from the south as hillbilly's, inbred etc etc. You only raise your voice when it comes to characterization of Americas enemies.

February 22, 2013 at 10:37 am |

Awetmedic

They are stuck with their existing strategy, "don't move a drone will get you". More drones = less terrorists, its working.

Your an idiot if you do not see the threat to our western way of life that these insane fanatics pose.
Open your eye's, Why do not all the moderate muslims fight to stop these fanatics? or at the least hold mass protests against them? are they afraid? no, that's not it. The reason the don't really do anything to stop them is that they want the same thing that the extremists do and all the while they will keep telling us how islam is the religion of peace and that these extremists are just the minority and don't follow true islam.
This is another lie from the "moderates" just read the surah of the sword and you will see.

I think they should let these folks loose in the Texas countryside so we can hunt them like feral pigs they are. But we won't shoot to kill, just to wound, then we'll leave them out there wounded for the feral pigs to eat while they are still alive. Then we'll shoot those pigs and feed the pork to the prisoners at Guantanamo. If they don't like that, we'll let them out of Guantanamo and set them loose in the Texas countryside. Good sport.

By your reasoning, Christiananity would be banned as well and you might be already making that point in your statement. Take a look at what happened during the Crusades when Christians killed thousands in the name of God.

Contrary to what they teach you in your madrassa, unlike mohamad who espoused violence and conducted it against the non believers, Jesus has never spoken about hurting any body.

February 22, 2013 at 10:45 am |

Harvesting

What about all the Neanderthals and the bad things they did. So do we go down the family lines of people and take their relatives to jail? No one on planet earth was alive during the Crusades, so why should a group that currently does not attack anyone be liable for actions of the past? I am not saying we should forget or pretend it never happened but your leap of logic is imo an odd point of view.

February 22, 2013 at 10:47 am |

Tuskerman

I keep forgetting that muslims are living in the middle ages. Thanks for the reminder, Klaibs

February 22, 2013 at 10:53 am |

Klaibs

I was simply replying to the post: " perhaps it's not wrong to outlaw any religion based on violence, with a history of violence". I was pointing out that Islam isn't the only religion with a HISTORY of violence.

February 22, 2013 at 11:16 am |

Jacek

despite of what you believe ensense, Christianity is a religion of fear and hate. Yes, they might no longer preach it at church, your children will not learn it in Sunday school. But go pick up a bible and read it, and you will see. I will give you an example:

2 Kings 2:23 – 2:24
From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!"
He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.

A bunch of kids were making fun of a bald guy, he called upon god and god as a nice peaceful and loving god sent a pair of bears to kill 42 of them.

February 22, 2013 at 11:18 am |

Rick

Christianity is one of the most violent religions, especially if you look at their history. And according to their bible, the christian god is one violent mo fo. floods, droughts, killing the babies, etc.

All religions are violent & are the cause of almost all violence in the world today.

The cursades were a direct response to the Muslims conquering and desecrating Christian holy land and killing christians over there only an Islamic apologist says they were not.

February 22, 2013 at 10:53 am |

ensense

KKK has nothing to do with Christianity and every thing to do with white supremacist movement.. Only a Muslim will look at the burning KKK cross and assume it has something to do with Christianity. because that is what the teach you in the madrasas.

February 22, 2013 at 10:56 am |

soulcatcher

Ensense has it right. The muslims had several goes at conquering europe from all sides prior to the crusades.

Well they don't like us coming over there and trying to change their culture any more than we'd tolerate it here. So it goes till someone gets completly wiped out. Everybody in the middle is just trying to survive and live normal day to day lives but it's the small radical groups, regardless of religious affiliation that are taught that their way is the only way and all others must be converted or eliminated.

Maybe they should not have allowed bin laden to mass his operations and bombed and killed 13,000 americans on spetember 11th. Funny how they didnt seem to care back then, but now dislike that we dont allow it to happen again. And for all you who seem to have ADHD and forgot this happened and other events like it priot here is your reminder.

Yesterday I've seen some politic correct public debate about the multiculti on BBC. For short: they're black, victem and therefor they're allowed to do anything they want. No wonder UK has become a breeding place for terrorism. Maybe UK should get out of the Schengen.

Racism is such an insidious disease that it severely damages one's thinking process, their grammar, and retards their
ability to relate to all people. Don't be blinded by a person's color; this leads to outlandish stereotyping and corrupts your soul.

They certainly do have a long term plan:
1) Kick all non-believers out of Muslim countries
2) Replace secular governments in Muslim countries with theocracies
3) Convert the rest of the world, by force if necessary
4) Purge the religion of all non-Sunnis
It is about religion, although non-mainstream Islam. These nut cases have been pretty selective in their reading of the Quran (as western fundamentalists are selective about reading the bible).

Yes, truly the extremists are selective in their reading of the qu'ran. They have selceted most of it.

February 22, 2013 at 10:28 am |

aaronPortsmouth

Your point re: fundamentalism is right on target. Killers in the name of religion are not only Muslims. Any religious group fueled by fanaticism is our biggest threat.

February 22, 2013 at 10:37 am |

TiredOfPaying

My fellow Americans, I'm sorry to say that I have failed you. My time machine got me to 700 AD but my gun jammed. I tried my best to eradicate this pestilence called islam before it became the world-wide cancer you face. I did, however, manage to infiltrate the cult and plant 2 ideas which will help you identify the enemy in your time: I made all women wear beekeeper outfits and all the men have unkempt beards. The fools think its a religious requirement.

Hey, the beards are awesome! It's the empty heads they're attached to that is the problem. Don't judge by the beards or you'll think think half of Portland, Oregon are terorists (we're the peace loving beardies here )

And you will be violating individual rights. Al-Qaeda is an extremist group. They are basically trained like our special forces. Infiltrate and inflict damage. You aren't going to get rid of them, not matter how hard the world tries. The best thing to do is to limit their capabilities.

Why the hell is this out in the public domain? Now they know we know...so now we don't know there strategy. CNN way to go! UK way to go putting these idiots on public trial. Are we ever going to learn how to fight these jerks.

Many possible reasons. Maybe they already know and this can alert the public to be vigilant for domestic training centers. Maybe they thought the public should know so they could get more tips. Most cynically, maybe they are releasing selective information to justify the drone campaign.

Renowned Muslim activists and generalists in more moderate muslim countries like Turkey have decried the silence of the corrupt muslim governments over the continued “brutal murders of innocent peoples by their tyrants like 200 Shiites, Hazara, were cold bloodily murdered in Pakistan by Sunni terrorists” and said all minorities should be given the right to self-determination.

More and more young muslims are joining terrorist groups to support their families. They are throwing away ooportunities given to them in contry like US, UK, Australia, Germany, France, and adopting terrorism under name of Allah or Mohammad. These young muslims are more vulnerable to be exploited by mullahs also known as terrorist recruiters. All mosques are becoming terrorist recruiting centers too in countries like US, UK, Australia, Germany, France, not just in uneducated countries like Pakistan, Yemen, Benghazi.

“Pakistan, Yemen, Benghazi, Somalia, Algeria, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, and almost all muslim countries are poverty ridden, uneducated, and bloody occupied by al Qaeda fighters, or some other types of muslim terrorist groups.

Under the military rules in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, syria, Egypt, Iran, freedom of speech is non-existent and human rights abuses are wide spread by mullahs. A survey said 4 out of 10 adult muslim men have never heard words like "Job", 'Education", "Election" or "Democracy".

Lives of muslims in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, Benghazi, Algeria, Syria are made miserable by gun-totting army personnel, shadowy secrete agents, or Jihadist terrorist groups, who routinely harass, extort money, committ raps, or terroriz people with impunity, adding that disappearances are almost a daily occurrence as also kidnapping, arrests, fake encounters and torture. Mass graves of minorities have been discovered in these muslim counties and the conscience of the world remains un-stirred................

I just don't get these terrorists. I don't get what they want. They have such a lack of compasssion for their fellow human beings. Why would anyone want to be part of a movement like that? Why do they think they could ever be successful in anything but destroying other people's lives?

I really don't get it at all, and these articles don't make it any clearer.

Houbie ... our history books detail why Arabs hate us – we murdered thousands of students in Iran, then shot down their commericial jetliner murdering 500 civilians on a regularly scheduled daily flight. We killed 500,000 in Iraq. We killed thousands in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia. We bombed Libyan territory 5 times. We kill daily in Afghanistan, Pakistan and most of the former USSR 'Georgian' countries.

Antarctica. I'm pretty sure United States has not bombed anybody there. Probably because no Arabs go there. But nice sprinkling of truth with ourright fiction. Your "facts" and just mearly a stack of cards against US with no context. I'm well read in history and the Middle East. The US has a legitamite grievance against certain terrorist groups bent on its destruction. I don't note any instance of them wishing peacful coexistance unless US entirely converts or dies.

February 22, 2013 at 2:17 pm |

Blah blah the wheel's off your trailer

That's nothing new. Just ask the Tea Party. They have more advanced ways of destroying this country.

To hear you compare political opponents with terrorists only proves to me that I was right to question the patriot act. We don't have to agree with the government. Tea Party members are not terrorists, they just don't agree with the way the government is taking our country. That is our right. 1st Ammendment.

I wonder when Obama will bring gulags on-line. Must be why he is pushing citizen disarmament so hard.

Too bad the recruits are being told not to waste their money, time, and lives by traveling to the tribal areas. Those trips were the closest thing the civilized world had for gathering extremists in one place and efficiently putting them out before they could inflict their murderous and suicidal 15 minutes of fame on completely innocent victims.

Has anyone ever pondered the following scenario (given the 'train at home' philosophy):
BackStory: There are a lot of unhappy people in the US right now.. most of them are white middle and lower class males. They have many reasons to be unhappy: (i) a lot of them (former blue collar workers) are out of jobs; (ii) white women, in general, have made significant strides whilst white men (on average) have stagnated; (iii) the rich (1%) have gotten wealthier, whilst the middle class and lower class have shrunk (iv)education is becoming increasingly unaccessible for the poorer people (v) the elephant in the room - the us has a black president, and some of these white people absolutely hate that reality.
Potential: Suppose one of these 'foreign trained' teachers came back to the us and started teaching these white hate groups and the disgruntled white people about these tactics. recall that the origin of the kkk was during the reconstruction period when (a) the white southerners (the richer ones) were severely restricted, (b) the former slaves achieved tremendous success, (c) poor white people also achieved considerable success.. the kkk's objectives was to (i) intimidate black people; (ii) restore the southern aristocracy to dominance.
I wonder if anyone (in the relevant agencies) has seriously considered the remote possibility that these white hate groups could become the next terror threat. what more convenient way for al qaeda to attack the west. they know that arab men are suspect, and any arab man acting in an off-center manner will be under surveillance. however, western governments would be hesitant to place white men under scrutiny. all al qaeda would need do is to get off the 'allah is god' bandwagon and start preaching white supremacy or 'down home christian values'. this would make them more appealing and they could recruit some of their next operatives in a very easy and effective way.
if i was the cia or fbi, i would give this angle some serious thought.

America's right wing racists/extremists can make their own bombs, and the last thing they would do is join forces with radical extremist muslims, and the same is true of the extremists muslims even considering working with the white supremists. It's never going to happen so you can stop losing sleep over it.

Now why would a group whose main strength comes from the religious zeal of its members, even think of teaching anything other than their religious beliefs? the number of deaths, though the more the merrier, is 2nd to just being able to hit a target.

There is one important thing you are forgetting. If you happen to be a white male and in a hate group, you hate everything but white males or white people in general. I would think that they would rather kill the Islamist extremist than work with or for them.

There will always be gullible people who can taken by kind of grandiose plan such as MLM, giving your possessions to religion, giving your wealth to wall street and to committing crime on many levels such as sedition by politicians who sign pledges and swear oaths to Grover Norquist. (Grover Owned Politicians). Terrible living conditions certainly shape the motivation for desperate people to rebel, but when it involves the murder of innocent civilians of your own country, your chances of recruitment without getting caught are about zero. Al Qaeda in this country is still far below the carnage that random despots with no affiliations to hate groups cause. I doubt Al Qaeda would even target a room full of school kids. The drone strike is working, keep it up!

While I agree that al Qaida leadership is intelligent enough go this route and Teabagger leadership is not intelligent enough to detect such a ruse, I wouldn't worry about this so much. These people are already armed to the teeth and have bomb making capabilities. Moreover, al Qaida, world wide, probably has under 20,000 members. There are 40,000 to 60,000 militia members in the US. The government knows about and monitors them. They are a far bigger immediate threat without any outside help.

You got that right. "Don't come here.. I don't want you tracked for a drone strike!"

Man, those drones are scaring the bleep out of the terrorists and I love it! I knew it was a game changer when the taliban threatened not to give their own children vaccines until the drone strikes stopped. "I PROMISE.. NON OF OUR CHILDREN WILL GET ONE OUNCE OF VACCINE!!! I SWEAR TO ALLAH!!"

"'The new strategy involves a teacher-training approach in which a select few Western operatives are taught bombmaking and other aspects of terrorist tradecraft in the tribal areas of Pakistan and are then instructed to return back to the West to "spread the knowledge" to a larger body of Islamist extremists keen on launching attacks."'

The drones are clearly working. Now let's tighten up the travel restrictions and surveillance. Remember how easy it was for the 9/11 guys to get in. Of course I am certain the intelligence agencies are doing just that. There will be some that slip through of course but minimizing their potential is important. Time to put ice packs on the watch list.

We can thank Woodrow Wilson for the creation of the Federal Reserve and U.S. foreign interventionalistic policies. What a puppet to the Banksters that stooge was. He was the beginning of the end of US Sovereignty.

It's not new. It's taught in middle school. You just interpreted this information like a sheep would. It's a shame that so few realize what the Federal Reserve act meant to this country. I could tell people to look at graphs of the US dollar's purchasing power over the past 100 years and they still wouldn't understand.

Don't let anyone back from Pakistan! Simple! What the hell would anyone want to go back to that hell-hole for anyway, unless it's for some nefarious reason! Send a plain ticket to their parents to come visit in the U.K. or anywhere else!

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CNN's Security Clearance examines national and global security, terrorism and intelligence, as well as the economic, military, political and diplomatic effects of it around the globe, with contributions from CNN's national security team in Washington and CNN journalists around the world.